Cons:

NBA fans can generally be divided into a couple of categories. There are those who want to see stars score tons of points, soar for vicious slams and swat shots into the stands and there are the aficionados who enjoy watching the Triangle offense being run to perfection even more than seeing Kobe Bryant throw down a reverse-360 windmill. The latter group likes to delve deeper into the game than simply enjoying the surface highlights, figuring out how different players' attributes and personalities fit together like a puzzle. With basketball's combination of teamwork and its inherent celebration of individuality and improvisation, true purists look at the game almost as if it were a form of jazz on the hardwood. That's the NBA 2K9 fan. The series from Visual Concepts has had a strong hold on the hardcore fan for years now, thanks to the genre's most realistic gameplay along with nuances that seem to be pulled straight from NBA arenas.

NBA 2K9 still boasts the best basketball gaming experience while the ball is in play, which is no change from previous years. If we had to describe NBA 2K9 in one word, it would be "smooth." The tempo seamlessly moves from a half-court game to quick transitions. Players not only glide -- with or without the ball -- unhindered by clipping or jerky movements, they move like they actually do in real life. In NBA 2K9, Josh Smith roams the court with his familiar loping, effortless gait as he looks to attack the rim on offense and block shots from the weakside on D. Shaq's raw power around the rim is still present for now, along with the funny way he lifts his legs up and bends his knees on two-handed dunks. Individual players' shooting styles are nearly spot-on, as are their idiosyncrasies, like when Steve Nash practices his follow-through several times at the free throw line before accepting the ball from the official.

With an advantage in gameplay already in the bag, VC obviously looked to make only slight tweaks to its on-court features from last year. Lockdown defense is still present, but in a much fairer form. While everybody's complaint in NBA 2K8 was that you could guard Leandro Barbosa with Glenn "Big Baby" Davis, this year's lockdown function doesn't even guarantee you can smother Barbosa with Chris Paul. Lockdown can help, but if you guess incorrectly the man you're guarding can get by you. Trust us, that mistake often leads to a score if you're playing the CPU.

Speaking of defense, we didn't like what happened after our offense scored. Immediately after a made basket, you're stuck controlling the defender closest to the ball, which is usually a big man taking his sweet time getting back where he should be. So your choices are either to try to steal the ball from the point guard with a seven-footer (good luck), use the turbo to make the big guy get back faster, or rotate through all of your players until you get to your own point guard. We'd rather see the game default to your point guard after every made basket and leave constant cycling to those who really enjoy off-ball defense.